Creating Hybrid Cards with Digital Brushes

I have an addiction to digital brushes! I love them all, from the grungy ones to the elegant script kind. There are so many different brushes to choose from! And when I don’t have a lot of time to make a card, digital brushes come in handy! Let me show you three different ways to use digital brushes on your next hybrid card project!

My very favorite way to use digital brushes is to create unique backgrounds. Whether I’m creating a layout or a hybrid card, digital brushes can add depth, texture and grunge to any paper. I’m working on a 4.25 x 5.5 inch document for all of the cards in this tutorial. On the Miss You So Much card, I took a background paper from the Heritage Collection Biggie. On a new layer, I added the Brush Set: Handwriting. I changed the blending mode to Overlay and the Opacity to 43%. This gives the brush a soft, light look.

Next, I added two separate layers of grunge using Dynamic Brushes: Background Blenders. By putting the brushes on separate layers, I can use different blending modes and opacities on each layer for even more control over the results.

Now that I have a background I like, I can finish the digital portion of my card. I added a paper strip, embellishments and a sentiment, and saved my file as both a psd and jpeg file.

Tip: When creating hybrid cards, I like to make several at once to have on hand. When I’m ready to print, I open a new letter sized document and the files I want to print. I drag the files over to the letter sized document and arrange them so they don’t overlap. I print them out on matte photo paper and cut them out to attach to a heavy weight cardstock.
Once my design is printed, I added a little dimension to it by adding a ribbon and 3 little brads. Keep in mind that you don’t want too much bulk on the card if you are sending it through the mail!

The second way to use digital brushes on cards are for embellishments! I opened a new document and created a new layer. I knew I wanted some clouds and a sun for this card, so I loaded the Brush Set: Whale of a Time and Layer Your Own Brush Set: Clouds. Stamping each brush on its own layer, I placed the images on the document in the area I want to place them. Just like with the background brushes, I played around with blending modes and opacity until I liked the effect I got.

After adding a background and sentiment, I saved the card. I knew I wanted to print out two of the clouds and the sun separately, so I opened up a letter sized document and dragged the images over to it, as well as the background of the card.

Finally, I cut out the pieces, attached them to the background and then attached the background to a card base. I added a little bit of shimmer to the clouds that looks great in person, but hard to see in a photo.

Tip: When attaching the background to a card base, I hate to see the white edges of the background showing. So before I attach them, I ink the edges of the background with an ink pad or even a marker. It gives the card a finished look. You can do this with embellishments, too!

What if your brush image is an outline instead of a solid image? Then you get to color!! I fell in love with Brush Set: Heart and Soul Paper Dolls. The first thing I did was stamp the brush set pieces, each on its own layer, on a new document.

Then I started to color the doll’s skin. I created a new layer under the body layer and chose a soft edge, round brush. I used 3 different shades to color her face, arms and legs. A soft edge brush helps blend the colors together and give some dimension. Then I used other Photoshop brushes to color in the clothes and shoes, each on a new layer under the respective items. Once that was done, I dragged each item and the coloring layer over to the body and “dressed” her. Finally I printed her out, cut her out and turned to the final use of brushes in this tutorial.

The third way to use digital brushes on hybrid cards is Sentiments! There are tons of great sentiment brushes in the Boutique, but two of my favorite are Brush Set: Pen and Ink Quotes Artists and Brush Set: Say It Birthday. On the card below, I created a background using digital papers and added a sentiment to the oval mat. With a small amount of digital embossing, the sentiment pops a bit.

I printed the card, cut it out and inked the edges before attaching it to a card base.

Finally, I challenged myself to create an entire card using only digital brushes! It was so much fun! I started with a blank document, and added different shapes and colors from the Brush Set: Altered Life Stenciled. I put each new brush on its own layer just in case I wanted to change anything later on.

Once I was happy with the brush work, I printed out the background and added the paper doll embellishment to the card using dimensional tape dots.

Now that I’ve showed you how easy it is to use digital brushes in your hybrid card crafting, I challenge you to create a card using digital brushes! I’d love to see what you create! Please share your cards in the Greeting Cards section of the Gallery!